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Glite Dictionary
🔪 A large knife 👨‍🌾 A pig killer
pigsticker

pigsticker

9.9
A person who kills pigs for meat on a farm or in a slaughterhouse
  • noun
  • /ˈpɪɡˌstɪkər/
  • Archaic
translation icon : matador de cerdos
  • Years ago, every village had a skilled pigsticker who handled the annual slaughter.

Examples

  • He learned the trade of a pigsticker from his father, who worked in the local abattoir.

  • The pigsticker arrives at the farm every morning to prepare for the day's work of slaughtering pigs.

  • The pigsticker arrived early in the morning to begin his work at the farm.

  • The pigsticker worked early in the morning.

  • Many pigstickers are needed during the busy season.

  • In the past, each village had a local pigsticker who was responsible for the annual pig slaughter.

  • After years of training, he became a skilled pigsticker and took on the job at the slaughterhouse.

Synonyms

meatpacker
vspigsticker
  • US
2 3.3

A person or business that kills animals and prepares meat for sale

involves just killing one species rather than full processing and packaging
slaughterer
vspigsticker
2 6.5

A person who kills animals and prepares their meat for people to eat

focuses on one species only, not general meat preparation
slaughterman
vspigsticker
1 7.4

A person who kills animals for meat in a building like a meat factory

is specific to one animal species rather than all animals

Surface Forms

pigsticker singular
pigstickers plural

Morphology

pigsticker = pig + stick (transparent) = pig + stick + er

The agentive reading ('person who sticks pigs') is a straightforward extension of 'pig' + 'stick' + '-er' and follows regular English word-formation.

Etymology

Pigsticker can also mean a person and comes from pig + stick + -er ('one who sticks' or stabs pigs). That's why a pigsticker is someone who kills or slaughters pigs, much like a village butcher.